


A Vancouver Halloween

by masulevin



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Halloween, Non-Sexual Intimacy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-07 14:36:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21218441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masulevin/pseuds/masulevin
Summary: It's been a hard road for Allie and Kaidan over the years, but now that they're finally together? Kaidan wouldn't trade this for anything in the world.A gift fic for soldiermom1973, starring her Allie Shepard and Kaidan Alenko.





	A Vancouver Halloween

**Author's Note:**

  * For [soldiermom1973](https://archiveofourown.org/users/soldiermom1973/gifts).

> Inspired by the amazing fic [1,000 Years (A Reconciliation Story)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20328241/chapters/48198310) by [soldiermom1973](https://archiveofourown.org/users/soldiermom1973/pseuds/soldiermom1973). I highly recommend you read the whole series because it's a great read and a fresh take.

Kaidan knows, logically, that he hasn’t been away from earth for all that long. He visits when he’s able, and he talks to his mom as often as he can, but this trip makes the last one feel so long ago he can’t remember it. He knows it’s because of the woman waiting for him at the edge of the pumpkin patch, encouraging his excitement for the Halloween festival with a patient smile; finally being able to bring her to Vancouver makes the extra media attention worth it.

October has always been his favorite time to visit his family. Even when it rains the whole time, the cooler temperatures and fall foliage make him feel almost at home as actually being with his parents. Now, with the reaper war over and reconstruction still going strong, he doesn’t get to go home as much as he would like, and that makes this trip with Allie that much more special.

Getting their schedules coordinated had been hard, finding a substitute for his class that his students didn’t find endlessly disappointing was harder, and they missed Thanksgiving by a couple of weeks… but they made it and he can feel his shoulders loosening and a smile taking over his face as he pays the drink vendor and finally walks back to where Allie is waiting for him.

She inhales sharply when he wraps an arm around her to pull her back against his chest, but she melts into him once the half-second of surprise passes. 

“Took you long enough,” she says, and he can hear the smile in her voice even if he can’t quite see it. “I thought maybe a reporter was trying to trap you again.”

He kisses her temple, smiles against her skin when she presses into the touch. “Not this time. I took evasive maneuvers appropriate to my mission.” She starts to snicker before he pulls his other hand from behind his back, offering her the reason for his absence: hot chocolate, still steaming.

She makes a pleased noise as she takes it from him and takes a tentative sip. Even though it has to still be too hot for her tongue, she hums a little at the taste, then says, “Excellent work, Colonel.”

Now that he has both hands free, he wraps his other arm around her too and rests his cheek against hers as he chuckles. Deeper in the pumpkin patch, he can see someone raising an omnitool to take their picture, so he shifts his weight and angles them away.

This celebration is just for the two of them, their first time enjoying a holiday away from the Normandy, off the Citadel, solid ground under their feet. It’s not for fans, as polite as Allie always is, and he’ll protect her for as long as he can.

She shivers as the wind picks up, swirling fallen leaves around their feet, and he holds her tighter. She takes another long, slow sip of her hot chocolate and makes another small, happy noise that makes him smile. 

“You know, I’m pretty sure I saw a kid dressed up as you earlier,” she says, placing her free hand over his. 

He entwines their fingers together. “Oh, do you want to count how many little Commander Shepards I’ve seen running around, because–”

“Okay, okay!” She laughs, loud in her mock-surrender. “You win. What are we doing next?”

She pulls away from his embrace and turns to face him, catching his hand in hers again as soon as she’s settled. Her eyes are bright with happiness, intoxicating him in their beauty, and it takes him a minute to remember the reason he brought her here.

“There’s a corn maze,” he says, “and I don’t think it’s shaped like you this year.” She wrinkles her nose at him and he laughs again. “We can pick our own pumpkins, obviously, take them back to the house and make Jack-o-Lanterns with them, maybe roast the seeds? There will be music starting soon, too, I think, and–”

Allie’s laugh cuts off his rambling, pulls his wandering attention back where it belongs: to her. “This is all very cute, Kaidan.”

He shrugs, cheeks heating up a bit, feeling almost bashful. “Autumn is my favorite season on earth,” he says, hoping it’s a good enough explanation.

It must be, because her next grin shows a little teeth. “I’ve never made a Jack-o-Lantern,” she says. “Teach me?”

That’s all it takes to get his spirits back up. “Of course.”


End file.
